Castlecomer - Ireland 2016

So... it isn't November! Why is that significant, you ask. It seems that I keep coming to Ireland in November, which isn't quite the height of tourist season here for a very good reason. Despite saying that, I've had amazingly good luck with weather on those late autumn trips, right up until 2014. That year saw us trying to chase down some good weather on the west coast and failing miserably. I made a vow on some particularly wet cold and windy day that I would return to cycle the west coast up into Donegal, just not in November!

So it isn't November...

This year, John's baby brother, David, who was cycling with us on that cold, wet and windy trip in 2014, gave us the perfect excuse for a summer trip by scheduling his wedding on July 1, a date we believed to be in the summer, until we shivered our way through the reception, bundled up in every piece of warm clothing we had, plus a few more borrowed from the family!

I should know better. I've been in Ireland in the summer before and I think the difference between summer and winter temperatures is only about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. A good winter day can be nicer than a bad summer one. I'm not complaining, just offering up a bit of explanation for why most of the photos include leg warmers!

 

The day after the wedding, we sprang out of bed around noon. We still hadn't adapted to the time change, plus there had been lots of late nights. We decided to spend one last night with the family, so we planned a loop ride out to the Castlecomer Plateau. We found amazing views of Carlow town and Mount Leinster along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

These are John's favorite types of roads.

 He especially loves the ones covered in fresh cow poo!

 

We had a great chat with the farmer as he led the cows from one field to another.

 

 

I'm experimenting with an app on my tiny iPad for blogging. Hopefully I can get this working and do daily updates -although I'm already a week behind. For more timely reports check us out on Instagram:  the_fixie_pixie and way_beyond_the_pale.